School's abrupt closure stuns students

November 22, 2008

Josephine Kilpatrick was only six weeks away from completing the courses she needed to become an electrocardiography technician, a process that had taken more than a year and cost more than $10,000 in tuition.

"I was in a rut, so I was looking for a new career and at starting a different life," said Kilpatrick, 37, of Logan Square. "I wanted something recession-proof, so I looked into doing cardiovascular work."

But in late October, Kilpatrick's school -- Medical Careers Institute, a 31-year-old Loop school owned by the parents of actor Billy Zane -- told her not to show up for her class that Friday. By the next week, word had spread that the school had closed, leaving students like Kilpatrick with no diploma, untransferable credits and unpaid student loans.

Now the Illinois Board of Education and attorney general's office are looking into the school's abrupt closure, and students are threatening to sue the owners.

Josephine Kilpatrick, shown Friday in her Northwest Side home, was a student at the Medical Careers Institute when the school suddenly closed. (Tribune / Phil Velasquez)

"I feel very betrayed," said Aimee Lefever, 31, a mother of two from Cortland who was scheduled to graduate from an ultrasound technician course in December. "I was working so hard and spent so much time studying and preparing, and now to not even be able to finish. . . . I feel kind of defeated."

Across from the Art Institute of Chicago on South Michigan Avenue, Medical Careers Institute was founded in 1977 by William and Thalia Zane, records show. The school's Web site, which has been removed, claimed this year that it had "graduated thousands of students."

Attempts to reach the Zanes were unsuccessful. The school's attorney, Arthur Evans, said he was not authorized to answer questions, but he played down the abrupt closing.

"They closed the school; it went out of business," Evans said. "There are businesses closing every day now."

The school, which reported enrollment of more than 300 students in 2007, offered training as medical technicians who operate equipment such as EKGs and ultrasound machines in hospitals and clinics. For as much as $10,000, students attended one eight-hour session a week for up to 12 months to receive a diploma that would qualify them to take a certification exam after receiving clinical experience.

By suddenly closing, the school left many students with incomplete training that is not transferable to other programs, officials said, requiring them to start a new program from scratch. No warning was given that the school might close, Kilpatrick said. When she called the school, an automated message told her to contact the school's attorney.

Jeffrey Antonelli, an attorney representing several students, said the owners took advantage of people working multiple jobs and looking for better lives.

"What they did to these students, taking their money before closing the door, that is what punitive damages are made for," he said.